Three months to the day of its official announcement, Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski finally stood toe-to-toe inside the House of Blues in Los Angeles for the first of three staredowns leading up to their heavyweight tilt on Saturday at Affliction and M-1 Global’s “Day of Reckoning” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The confident couple will square off again Friday at the event’s weigh-ins, also inside the Honda Center, and will converge one last time in the center of the ring before they retire to their corners.

It hasn’t been an easy task assembling such a high caliber bout between the world’s No. 1 and 2 ranked heavyweights, though one wouldn’t notice from the polished presentation that Affliction, M-1 Global, Golden Boy Productions, and the Trump Organization presented their few month’s effort Wednesday for the press.

The road to “Reckoning” has had its twist and turns though.

Following Emelianenko’s 36-second trouncing of Tim Sylvia at Affliction “Banned” last July, word quickly spread that the unflappable Russian would not be well enough to helm a second event planned for Oct. 11 in Las Vegas. It seems Emelianenko’s right hand, which has steadily betrayed the heavyweight throughout his 8-year career, could not withstand the shellacking he inflicted.

Affliction rightfully turned its efforts to a contender’s match between Josh Barnett, hot off avenging his 2000 loss to Pedro Rizzo, and Arlovski, who has flourished with victories against Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson since he exited the UFC in July.

However, amidst whispers of emaciated ticket sales and Zuffa LLC’s strong-arm tactics in exerting its home turf advantage, the event was cancelled.

On Oct. 21, Affliction announced that it would team up with Golden Boy for an illustrious hybrid event. Those plans fell to the wayside shortly afterward, but a solo MMA offering stayed on the docket for Jan. 24, while Oscar De La Hoya’s unit booked a monster attraction between “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito just 30 miles down the road at the Staples Center.

But all this is water under the bridge, say the partnering promoters. What’s important is Emelianenko (28-1), who hasn’t always faced the strongest opposition available, should get a test in a hungry Arlovski (15-5). The bout, which will reportedly cost Affliction a few million dollars in purses alone to pull off, will answer a relevant question in the heavyweight division.

“It’s a very, very important fight,” said Emelianenko through his interpreter Steve Nash. “It’s one of the most important fights of my life, my career. I’m fighting a very difficult, a very dangerous opponent, one that I’ve trained for very seriously with all of my efforts.”

With a yogi’s calm, the slightly grinning Emelianenko addressed the room Wednesday as if he were speaking at a Tony Robbins seminar.

“I’d like to wish all the fighters no injuries, a great show and for them to perform to the best of their ability,” he said.

That’s all anybody can ask for.